NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 14, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it lowered its corporate credit rating on Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Restaurants Inc. to 'BBB' from 'BBB+'. We have removed all the ratings from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications on Dec. 21, 2007. Concurrently, we affirmed Darden's 'A-2' short term rating, which was not on CreditWatch. The outlook is stable. "The downgrade reflects the deterioration in Darden's core businesses, Red Lobster and Olive Garden, due to weak fundamentals in the casual-dining sector and rising commodity costs," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Diane Shand. These factors will likely affect Darden for several more quarters at a time when it is integrating its Oct.
